Youji, clad in grey armor, stood in front of the Royal Palace's front doors. Behind him were a line of knights, followed by a line of maids.

He’d brought the maids along at King Rowan’s insistence. The king planned to use the maids to seduce Hupo. To this end, he’d personally selected some of the most beautiful maids in the palace to greet Hupo. He’d even promised a large sum of money to the maid who could win Hupo's heart.

Youji had already warned King Rowan that the plan was doomed to fail. There were no women in the capital who could compare to the beauty who worked with Hupo at Chicken Castle. But the king wanted to try anyway.

"Prepare to greet our esteemed guests."

"Sir!" The knights replied in unison.

It wasn't long before the carriage reached them. Hupo was the first to disembark. He looked as though he was dressed for battle. He even wore a mask. Was he planning to keep it on during dinner? Was it customary, where he was from, to dress in battle attire for formal events?

Normally, guests wouldn’t be allowed to bring weapons into the palace. But Hupo was an exception. Youji didn’t ask him to relinquish his sword, because he didn’t want to risk offending him in any way.

Following Hupo was the radiant beauty Youji had seen at Chicken Castle. She wore white garments of supreme quality, unlike anything he’d seen before. He could only imagine the eye-popping price tag of her dress, which was studded with thousands of sparkling white diamonds. It fitted closely to her body, accentuating her curves.

The necklace around her neck appeared even more valuable than her dress. Its pendant was a large, flawless blue jewel that hung from a string of white jewels. The jewels were more lustrous than any diamond Youji had ever seen.

In her hand was a beautiful white staff that perfectly matched her dress.

She's a mage?

A staff in the hands of a mage was as dangerous as a sword in the hands of a warrior. Since it was considered a weapon, it too was not normally allowed inside the palace. However, the exception applied to her as well.

"Greetings, Hupo. I've been tasked with welcoming you and your esteemed partner this evening." Youji lowered his head.

The knights and maids behind him followed suit.

"Please raise your head, Youji.” Hupo gestured at his partner. “This is Alana. You've already met her at Chicken Castle, but I haven't formally introduced her to you. Please treat her as you would me."

If Hupo saw how glorious a place the Royal Palace was, especially the throne room, then perhaps he'd reconsider King Rowan's offer of knighthood. I mean, who wouldn't want to work in a place as amazing as this?

"Of course. Dinner begins in an hour. In the meantime, I’ll give you a tour of the Royal Palace."

"I look forward to it."

***

This is so boring.

Hupo could barely keep his eyes open. His tour guide had been describing the rooms of the palace with enthusiasm for much of the past hour. All Hupo could do was nod and say words of agreement. He was grateful to have a mask on, because it hid the drowsy expression he undoubtedly had behind it.

Looking at Alana, he couldn’t tell if she was enjoying the tour. Her face was neutral.

This is like bringing a date to a bad movie.

Hupo had initially seen the trip as a much-needed vacation for Alana. However, he began seeing it as a date after Coco brought up the notion that it could be perceived as one.

Youji stopped at a set of tall double doors. "The best part of the tour is coming up."

You mean the end?

"Behind these doors is the most amazing room in the entire palace. Once you see its magnificence, you'll realize just how glorious a country the Dominion is." Youji held the door open for Hupo and Alana.

Crested with jewels and decorated with carvings of angels, the throne was an oversized chair carved out of solid wood. Situated on either side of the throne was ten-foot-tall stone knight. A crystal chandelier with five levels of lights hung from the high ceiling.

I’ve seen this room in my visions. This is where I got the idea for placing stone knights at the game start screen.

Youji appeared very pleased with himself. "Well, what do you think? Impressive, isn't it?"

Not at all.

In World of Lorecraft, Hupo and Alana had accumulated vast amounts of in-game currency. Having nothing better to use it for, they’d pooled their money together to buy a guildhall. The one they had bought was huge. It was designed to accommodate upwards of fifty players. The throne room of the Dominion's Palace was nothing to scoff at, but compared to the one in their guildhall, it was mediocre at best.

Hupo didn’t want to disappoint Youji, but he didn’t want to lie either.

He came up with a suitable response. "It's big."

Big was a relative term. Compared to the throne room in his guild hall, it was tiny. However, compared to Coco's home, it was big.

Youji smiled and nodded. "It certainly is."

He went on and on about how great a place the throne room was. The only part of his speech that caught Hupo's attention was, "And that concludes the tour. We'll be heading to the dining hall next."

Hupo was feeling hungry, so he was glad to hear that the tour was finally over and that their next destination would be the dining hall.

***

Princess Amigdala had inherited her mother's gorgeous looks. She had high cheekbones and golden, curly hair that draped over her round shoulders. An elegant cherry blossom pink dress adorned her delicate figure. Hanging around her neck was a sparkling diamond necklace of exquisite quality.

She sat with her arms crossed, tapping her finger and staring at the door.

How much longer do I have to wait for them?

She didn’t let her displeasure show on her face. She needed to keep up appearances, for the many nobles who were looking in her direction. They were probably admiring her beauty. She didn’t blame them. It was only natural for insects to be attracted to light.

The chatter died down when the doors of the dining hall swung opened. Everyone's attention was drawn to the group of people entering. At the head of the group was Youji, followed closely by a warrior in black armor.

That must be the winner of this year's Combat Tournament. Why is he wearing armor? His brain must be the size of a peanut.

Amigdala’s lips drew back in a snarl when she saw the woman walking behind the warrior.

That tramp is stealing the show!

She made a slight growling noise in her throat. Feelings of bitterness festered inside of her, as she watched the nobles staring stupidly at the woman.

Strutting around with those melons hanging out, in such a revealing dress – is she trying to piss me off?

Amigdala rubbed her own chest with her hand. There wasn’t much there. Much to her dismay, she’d inherited her mother's flat chest.

The woman's dress glittered under the bright lights.

When Princess Amigdala realized why, she gritted her teeth.

How can a commoner afford such a high-class dress? Not even my dresses have that many diamonds! And that necklace… it makes mine look cheap in comparison!

She leaned toward her father, who sat next to her. "I want that woman as my maid."

She had made a similar request of him not too long ago. The daughter of a low-ranking noble had looked at her the wrong way, so she had her father arrange for the girl to become her maid. Afterwards, she had unleashed the palace's guard dogs on the girl and laughed with glee as they ripped her to shreds.

Her father replied in a lowered voice, "She’s the partner of our important guest. We cannot risk offending them."

"Father!" Not use to rejection, she crossed her arms and pouted.

Looking more closely at the warrior, she noticed that he was wearing a mask.

Who does he think he is, wearing a mask in my father's presence? How rude!

That was the last straw. She couldn’t restrain her annoyance any longer.

She slammed the table and stood up. "The audacity!"

The whole room went completely silent. Everyone looked in her direction.

She pointed at the warrior. "How dare you hide your face behind a mask! Know your place, you filthy commoner!"

"Amigdala! Control yourself!"

Taken aback by the anger in her father's voice, she sat back down.

"Please accept my sincerest apologies, Hupo. My daughter has shown you grave disrespect."

"No, she’s correct. I should be the one apologizing for forgetting my manners." The warrior brought his hand to the side of his mask and opened it.

What Princess Amigdala saw next took her breath away. His face seemed to brighten the entire room. All the negative feelings she had felt moments ago melted away. Her heart thumped wildly in her chest.

Are the other women feeling the same way?

Looking around the room, she saw that the nobles were mindlessly staring at the warrior. Some of them were even drooling. Like her, they appeared to have completely lost themselves at the sight of the most handsome man in the world.

I must have him. I'll ask my father to make him my guard after dinner. He'll make the perfect pet.